Hospital Safety Score - How Safe Is Your Local Hospital?

The Hospital Safety Score is an A, B, C, D, or F letter grade reflecting how safe hospitals are for patients. For the first time ever, this score empowers you to make informed decisions about the safety of your hospital care.1 in 4 Medicare patients will walk out of a hospital with an issue they didn’t walk in with, many of which are fatal. Some people do more research on what car to buy than what hospital to go to for medical care. The Hospital Safety Score provides data and research to help you make informed decisions about a critical aspect of your hospital stay – safety. A hospital may have the best surgeons and greatest technology in the world, but unless it is preventing infections, and eliminating medical and medication errors and injuries, it is not delivering on a very basic premise: ensuring the safety of you and your loved ones. The goal of the Hospital Safety Score is to reduce the more than 180,000 yearly deaths from hospital errors and injuries by publicly recognizing safety and exposing harm. “Harm” ranges from infections and acquired injuries such as bedsores to medication mix-ups and other errors, some potentially fatal. See your local hospital’s data page for information on the 26 measures that comprise its score.

via Hospital Safety Score - How Safe Is Your Local Hospital?.

Viruses attack the nose in winter, but you can ease the discomfort with fluids and sprays - The Washington Post

What to do. Drinking fluids helps thin mucus and unstuff your nose. Also, try a saline nose spray; it’s safe to use as often as you need it. Need stronger measures? Congestion is often caused by engorged blood vessels, so a decongestant is in order. Experts recommend spray decongestants over pills because they attack the problem locally rather than affect your entire system. Pick one with oxymetazoline, such as Afrin, Vicks Sinex or a generic. Be sure to use them as directed; the sprays can cause rebound swelling if used longer than three days. If you prefer pills, try pseudoephedrine (Sudafed or generic), which is nonprescription but is kept behind pharmacy counters. If you have hypertension or glaucoma, talk to your doctor before using it.

Sinusitis. This inflammation of the lining of the sinuses is caused by allergies, irritation or an infection. You’ll feel as if your head is stuffed up, not just your nose, and you might have tenderness in your cheeks, upper jaw or around your eyes.

What to do. Doctors usually encourage sufferers to try home or over-the-counter remedies — say, a painkiller and a decongestant. Most cases are viral, not bacterial, so antibiotics won’t help. Sinusitis usually clears up in about 10 days. If symptoms last longer, see your doctor.

via Viruses attack the nose in winter, but you can ease the discomfort with fluids and sprays - The Washington Post.

Preventing and Treating a Cold: What Works? | LiveScience

Washing hands and taking zinc may be the best ways to avoid getting the common cold, and over-the-counter pain relievers are the recommended treatments to alleviate the symptoms, according to a new review.

The common cold strikes adults two to three times a year on average, while children under age 2 develop colds about six times a year, according to the study. There\'s no vaccine or cure for the cold, which usually takes only a few days to resolve on its own but can be bothersome and debilitating.

To identify the best ways to prevent getting a cold, or help alleviate its symptoms once it has struck, researchers reviewed more than 150 studies of both traditional and nontraditional approaches, ranging from gargling water to eating garlic.

via Preventing and Treating a Cold: What Works? | LiveScience.

Vicodin Not Superior to Tylenol #3 for Acute Pain

Hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Vicodin, AbbVie) was not superior to codeine/acetaminophen (Tylenol #3, McNeil) in acute pain relief reported by patients 24 hours after being discharged from the emergency department, according to a new study.

While Vicodin is the most popularly prescribed opioid in emergency departments, the drug and other hydrocodone combination formulations are under consideration by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for rescheduling from a Schedule III drug to a more tightly regulated Schedule II drug. New York State has already made the change.

With Tylenol #3 representing a potentially ideal alternative, researchers sought to compare the 2 drugs — and found existing evidence was scant.

"The reason we conducted this study was because there was very little evidence supporting the superiority of Vicodin over Tylenol with codeine, despite its heavy preference in the emergency department setting," said lead author Andrew K. Chang, MD, MS, an associate professor of clinical emergency medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and attending physician at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York.

"There was no significant difference in side effects, [and] our results showed that Vicodin failed to provide superior pain relief compared to Tylenol with codeine."

via Vicodin Not Superior to Tylenol #3 for Acute Pain.

Celebrity's Twitter Flooded with Criticisms About Her Stance Against Vaccines for Children

After news broke on Friday about reality television star Kristin Cavallari opting to not vaccinate her children because of her concerns regarding autism, the Twitterverse went bonkers on Jenny McCarthy, a well-known outspoken figure against vaccinations.

McCarthy's 11-year-old son Evan was diagnosed with autism in 2007 and ever since, she has been outspoken about the subject of vaccinations. In 2008 while interviewing with Larry King, McCarthy noted that there has been an increase in the number of vaccinations along with an increase in cases of autism.

When McCarthy joined The View on ABC, many were concerned that she would condemn vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella. But instead she has simply mentioned her concern about the link between vaccinations and autism. In recent years (especially in the past few months) there have been various outbreaks of measles and mumps in different parts of the United States--mostly due to parents not vaccinating their children.

Last month in San Francisco, there were 15 documented cases of measles when a college student rode the transit system after visiting the Philippines without getting vaccinated. He reportedly contracted measles and spread it to some nearby passengers. Fordham University in the Bronx reported a small mumps outbreak last month as well. And a couple of weeks ago there were 16 measles cases reported in upper Manhattan, prompting city officials to urge residents to get their vaccinations.

via Celebrity's Twitter Flooded with Criticisms About Her Stance Against Vaccines for Children.

Migraines: Not Just Another Headache - YouTube

If you've never had a migraine, you might think it's just a really bad headache. But if you've ever had them, or you know someone who does, you know that they're much worse -- and much more complicated -- than that. Hank explains the biology behind this disorder of the central nervous system, and how it can be treated.

via Migraines: Not Just Another Headache - YouTube.

Medical conspiracy beliefs change health behavior

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About half of American adults believe in at least one medical conspiracy theory, according to new survey results.

For example, three times as many people believe U.S. regulators prevent people from getting natural cures as believe that a U.S. spy agency infected a large number of African Americans with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

J. Eric Oliver, the study's lead author from University of Chicago, said people may believe in conspiracy theories because they're easier to understand than complex medical information.

"Science in general - medicine in particular - is complicated and cognitively challenging because you have to carry around a lot of uncertainty," Oliver said.

"To talk about epidemiology and probability theories is difficult to understand as opposed to 'if you put this substance in your body, it's going to be bad,'" he said.

Like the theories about conspiracies to infect African Americans with HIV and to prevent citizens from accessing alternative medicines, the other theories on the list had mistrust of government and large organizations as themes.

They include the theory that the government knows cell phones cause cancer but does nothing about it, that genetically modified organisms are being used to shrink the world's population, that routine vaccinations cause autism and that water fluoridation is a way for companies to dump dangerous chemicals into the environment.

Some 49% of the survey participants agreed with at least one of the conspiracies.

In fact, in addition to the 37% of respondents who fully agreed that U.S. regulators are suppressing access to natural cures, less than a third were willing to say they actively disagreed with the theory.

With regard to the theory that childhood vaccines cause psychological disorders like autism and the government knows it, 69% had heard the idea, 20% agreed with it and 44% disagreed.

The survey results suggest people who believe in medical conspiracy theories may approach their own health differently, the researchers said.

For example, while 13% of people who did not believe in any conspiracies took herbal supplements, 35% of those who believed in three or more theories took supplements.

Overall, the researchers say people who believed in conspiracies were more likely to use alternative medicine and to avoid traditional medicine.

Oliver said the findings may have implications for doctors.

Instead of viewing patients who believe in conspiracy theories as crazy, he said doctors should realize those patients may be less likely to follow a prescription regimen.

via FULL ARTICLE: You're not alone: Medical conspiracies believed by many.

FDA.GOV For Consumers - HOW TO FIND RECALLS

In addition to the below features, use the fda.gov site to search for recalls by typing in the search window top right "name recall" where name is the name of a drug or supplement.

Navigate the For Consumers Section

Consumer Updates

Timely and easy-to-read articles covering all FDA activities and regulated products

Protect Yourself

Buying medicines online, health fraud, warnings and enforcement, safety alerts, and reporting problems to FDA

Multi-Media Consumer Information

Videos, photo slide shows, and audio podcasts

Consumer Information by Audience

For seniors, women, patients and patient advocates, parents and caregivers, health educators, students, and kids.

Print Publications

Links to available print publications, information on ordering free copies, and printer-friendly Consumer Update PDFs

via FDA.GOV For Consumers - HOW TO FIND RECALLS.

WEBMD Health & Fitness Guide - Better Information for Better Health

Running, walking, gardening – it’s all good. Regardless of what you do, regular exercise and physical activity is the path to health and well-being. Exercise burns fat, builds muscle, lowers cholesterol, eases stress and anxiety, lets us sleep restfully. In this guide, we match resources to your exercise needs -- at every fitness level.

via Health & Fitness Guide - Better Information for Better Health.

Choosing Wisely | headache resources

American Headache Society

Numerous evidence-based guidelines agree that the risk of intracranial disease is not elevated in migraine. However, not all severe headaches are migraine. To avoid missing patients with more serious headaches, a migraine diagnosis should be made after a careful clinical history and an examination that documents the absence of any neurologic findings such as papilledema. Diagnostic criteria for migraine are contained in the International Classif...

American College of Radiology

Imaging headache patients absent specific risk factors for structural disease is not likely to change management or improve outcome. Those patients with a significant likelihood of structural disease requiring immediate attention are detected by clinical screens that have been validated in many settings. Many studies and clinical practice guidelines concur. Also, incidental findings lead to additional medical procedures and expense that do not i...

American Academy of Neurology

EEG has no advantage over clinical evaluation in diagnosing headache, does not improve outcomes and increases cost. Recurrent headache is the most common pain problem, affecting 15% to 20% of people. Occlusive carotid artery disease does not cause fainting but rather causes focal neurologic deficits such as unilateral weakness. Thus, carotid imaging will not identify the cause of the fainting and increases cost. Fainting is a frequent complain...

Patient-Friendly Resources

Imaging tests for headaches

Many people who experience severe headaches want a CT scan or MRI to see if they're caused by a brain tumor or other serious problem. But most of the time neither test is necessary. Here's why: The tests rarely help diagnose the problem. Most people who seek medical help for headaches have migraines or tension-type headaches. Those can indeed be painful, and migraines sometimes come with disturbing symptoms, like visual changes. But all that's u...

Treating migraine headaches

Migraine attacks can last for hours—or even days. They can cause intense pain, nausea, and vomiting. They can make you sensitive to light or noise, and they can affect your life and work. To treat migraines, you may get a prescription for an opioid (narcotic) or a barbiturate (sedative) called butalbital. These are pain medicines. But you should think twice about using these drugs. Here’s why: These drugs can make headaches worse. Using too mu...

via Choosing Wisely | Search Results | headache.